Gear Review: Magna-Arm Magnetic Holster

Securing a gun in your home can be ridiculously easy or frustratingly difficult, depending on a couple of factors – how many people are in the home, how secure is your exterior, and how much traffic do you get inside the home for starters. And there are no easy answers. Gun safes are secure, but make your guns largely inaccessible. Leaving your guns at arm’s reach is convenient, but leaves them accessible to children and anybody who might want to take a five-finger discount on your guns and possessions. What’s a gun owner to do? One innovative idea is “better living through magnetism” with magnetic holsters from Magna-Arm Firearm Concealment.

Magnets. Simple idea. Even polymer guns have ferrous metal slides and barrels, so there’s always enough there to stick a magnet to. And magnets have come a long way since the little horseshoe-shaped toys of our youth. But will they work to secure a firearm without A) damaging the gun or B) risking the magnet losing its grip? Well…it depends. It depends on the magnet, how it’s surface is shielded fromt the gun, and how the magnet is secured to whatever surface you want to store the gun against. Enter Magna-Arm.

Magna-Arm uses some fairly high-powered magnets (strong enough that you really don’t want them near credit cards or expensive watches) covered is a durable rubberized material. They are designed to be affixed with two, flat-head wood screws (included) to a wall, bed frame, the underside of a desk, or an automobile console. Once secured, place your gun near the magnet, and it will stay until you pull it off. Simple as that. For larger/heavier weapons (shotguns, ARs, etc.), the manufacturer recommends two magnets. I tested this idea with my Wingmaster 870. One magnet will hold the shotgun, but two holds it securely. The rubberized surface of the unit prevented any marring or scratching of my gun’s finishes. And the units themselves are sturdy-looking, if a bit, um…ugly.

Magna-Arm’s product would would be ideal to allow you to secure a gun under a desk, behind a headboard, or inside a closet. My favorite idea would be to secure a shotgun or rifle over the inside of a closet door. That position affords instant, easy access, but it’s not someplace that most people would think to look, even if you are the victim of a burglary. It also keeps the gun out-of-reach of children young enough to be tempted to play with a firearm. Is that sufficient protection for your kids. No. But it a world of risk-assessment, it may well be a risk you’re willing to take, when you try and balance a need to have your defensive tools accessible, versus keeping children safe.

Speaking of safety, the disclaimer included is…um…obviously the product of an over-zealous attorney. The entire point of having a gun mounted conveniently nearby is to keep it loaded and ready for action. If you were to follow the admonitions on this scrap of paper, you might as well put your gun in a safe.

Using magnets for holsters is not a idea unique to Magna-Arm. There are a number of companies out there making similar products. (In fact, YouTube features at least one video showing how you can roll your own.) However, there are some advantages to a “buy” over a “build” solution, namely the protective, rubberized coating Magna-Arm uses, as well as their “mushroom cap” design, which allows for a 306º swivel. What’s impressive about Magna-Arm’s design, is that they have a hard plastic coating on the plate and sides of the magnet, but a malleable coating on the business end, giving you the best of both worlds. Because the magnet is raised, you don’t have to worry that securing the gun along the top of the slide, for instance, would cause a problem with your adjustable sights.

If you were to build your own magnetic holster, you’d spend $10 or so on high-powered magnets, another $5 or so on heat-shrink tubing, and probably that much on a wood or plastic strip and some screws. Depending on what your time is worth, you’d spend another half-hour or so assembling the materials you need and making them. Given that, it’s hard to justify not paying the $24 per unit, and getting a magnetic holster that won’t scratch your gun’s finish and will work in just about any kind of mounting scenario you might have. When you look at the design smarts and quality of workmanship on the Magna-Arms product, it’s an easy decision.

Given a choice between a gun safe and storing my guns out of sight (and out of kid’s reach), I think the Magna-Arm solution looks pretty good.

Quality: * * * * * – well designed and well made.Installation: * * * * * – If you can use a screwdriver, you’re good to go.Mounting: * * * – If wood screws won’t work for you, you’re on your own.Functionality: * * * * * – It works. It’s flexible. What more could you want?Value: * * * * * – It’s worth the bucks, when all is said and done.Looks: * – I’ve seen oil refineries with more style. Then again, who’s gonna look?

the chance of magnetizing is pretty good but it would only be a little bit. Just try rubbing a strong magnet in one direction on a paper clip. It gets magnetized but it won’t be stopping any pacemakers.

Actually, it’s funny you mentioned this! We had a customer tell us that he mounted his Magna-Arm outside his shower door so he had access to his gun if something happened while he was showering! Various levels of paranoia, I guess! 🙂

I seem to recall a safety bulletin we received several years back that described an incident in which an officer’s handgun malfunctioned during training. It was determined that the handgun had become magnetized during a medical office burglary (or something) investigation after coming in close contact with a MRI machine. The firing pin movement was retarded due to the magnetism, or so the story went. I never heard further and it may have been one of those urban legends but it’s something that stuck to the back of my mind and resurfaces on occasions such as this. Not that the magnets in this device would have the ability to transfer enough magnetism to cause such a malfunction. Or (insert scary music here) would they?

Do you have any idea the difference in the magnetic field between an MRI and a rare Earth magnet? (Hint: it’s akin to that between “lightning” and “lightning bug.”) I seriously doubt these magnets could have any adverse effect on a gun, no matter how long they stay in contact.

The idea has alot of merit and even som clear pratical demonstrations.

Has the product been thruoghly QA tested?

Is it possible to cause certain manufacture’s otherwise safe guns to fire by pulling the gun towards the rear in firearm models which have a ferrous firing pin and a safety system which allows for a free floating firing pin at some point before pulling the firearm trigger? Candidate test guns: AK47, Remington 870, springfield M1A. Springfiels 1911 (GRIP SAFETY DEPRESSED), Springfield XD (grip safety depressed).

After all, it only takes a few pounds of direct pressure to cause a primer to ignite.

How would that be a fair test, if you have the grip safety depressed? I’m not trying to be difficult (ask my ex- she’ll tell you I can be difficult without any effort at all. It’s a gift). But if we’re worried about an AD or an ND, is defeating the safeties a valid part of the test? I’d be much more interested to know if I could get a gun to discharge with a magnet, without holding the gun at all.

Perhaps our testing wizards can devise a test worth of Mythbusters on this one…

Actually, I’m testing it now. You’d have to be in a really serious collision for it to even MOVE the gun. You have no idea how strong that magnet is. It’s actually kinda difficult to remove the gun from the magnet. And if you use two, you double the holding power. And of course, if you have a serious enough collision to dislodge a gun, you’ve got a lot more to worry about than “did the gun lose contact with the magnet?”

i have used mine for a truck or a van . I’m in very bad places . installing cameras for the government surveillance. i love it . i did see that the coating is wearing of which is starting to scratch a little. not good but over all i want more

Hi James,
Glad you like your Magna-Arm! Remember, Magna-Arm has a lifetime guarantee! If the protective surface is wearing off, please contact us at info@magna-arm.com and arrange for a replacement for free.
Aaron with Magna-Arm

Yeah, the product looks fine but the Magna-Arm checkout site absolutely blows. The only way to check out with a purchase is through PayPal. If there’s an alternative method of checking out it’s not easy enough to find in 5 minues, and there’s no contact information anywhere on the site to call and order or ask questions. Really lame, in this age of electronics even MY attention span or “giveashit” doesn’t last that long, so I’ll be passing on this.

I purchased five Magna-Arm magnets and installed three. When I removed my firearms from the magnets to go to the range to practice, the magnets pulled through the rubber coating on two making them useless, and when I checked the third, it too was about to pull through the rubber. Great idea, but quality is very poor.

“Is that sufficient protection for your kids. No. But it a world of risk-assessment, it may well be a risk you’re willing to take, when you try and balance a need to have your defensive tools accessible, versus keeping children safe.”

I agree! It’s way more important to have your gun around than it is to keep your kid from blowing his or her head off. I’m going to recommend these to all of the parents I know.

I’m using one of these magnets located the underside of the wooden frame for the right hand desk drawer.
(Not attached to the drawer itself, but the wood frame) The gun holds very tight. After reading this information
and concerns about how the magnet (very strong as the article mentions) may magnetize my P232 (loaded with
Lehigh ammo) I checked the pistol with a paper clip. Yes, the paper clip is attracted by the slide. It doesn’t seem
a strong attraction but there is some.
I’m considering altering an unused holster in place of the magnet.
I’d like to see some serious investigation regarding magnetizing the firearm. Just how much magnetizing is too
much?